News: Graziano: What I think Rob Ryan's firing could mean

Well, it turns out Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wasn't just blowing smoke when he said on the radio last week that things were about to get uncomfortable around Valley Ranch. If you're a Cowboys coach right now, you can't be feeling comfortable at all. Running backs coach Skip Peete was let go Monday, and ESPNDallas.com reports that defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has been fired as well.

Ryan seems like an odd move in some ways. I mean, yes, the Cowboys finished 19th in the league in defense in terms of yards allowed and 24th in terms of points allowed, but they did lose five starters and their nickel cornerback to injury along the way, which is the kind of thing that can generally get a coordinator a break. Hard to really judge Ryan's performance considering he didn't really have his team.

And it remains to be seen what else happens, as there's some chatter in Dallas about the possibility of Jones taking play-calling responsibilities away from head coach Jason Garrett and hiring an offensive coordinator. But assuming Ryan's dismissal turns out to be the Cowboys' biggest offseason change, it could actually signify continued support for Garrett. The reason I say that is because it's a change that doesn't really strike at Garrett's authority over the offense. It allows Jones to make a big, heads-will-roll splash without undermining the coach in whom he's placed and professed so much long-term faith. Heck, it could even allow Garrett to have more input into the hiring of the new defensive coordinator than he had in the hiring of Ryan two years ago (when, it is believed, he preferred Ray Horton).

If Garrett isn't forced to hire an OC, I don't know if I'm going to bother watching games this season. This is just more Jerry Jones smoke and mirrors. If you're going to call the defense a problem and make some dramatic move, then you better do something about that offense.

All I recall was hearing what an interesting and out-of-the-box choice Garrett made in bringing in Rob Ryan. Though I recall us being interested in Horton, too, at the time.

Whatever, the stink of the Ryan family is off the organization. Moving back to a 4-3 would be even more music to my ears. As long as we get quality replacements that represent upgrades, I'm happy.

that would depend on what kind of defensive lineman is available in the draft: If a Jason Pierre-Paul DE type is available we move to the 4-3, if a BJ Raji NT type is available we stay with the 3-4. Right now we have neither guy on the roster.

I think that Garrett and Jerry collectively picked Rob Ryan; however, I think that they probably discussed Ray Horton and decided that a 1st time Head Coach and a 1st time D-Coordinator might not be the best combination

And all we heard about was how much control Garrett has, until something goes wrong.

Then it wasn't 'his guy' after all.

Sorry, can't have it both ways.

Garrett's got control, then it's all on him.

I disagree with Garrett having control. I think this week showed how little control he actually has. Jerry is calling the shots and he doesn't care who likes it. If they bring in an OC, Garrett is done. He will be nothing more than a puppet. He has put in his place after saying that he would be calling plays and only a day afterward he backed off that statement and said he would do what's best for the Cowboys. Jerry clearly let him know who was in charge. How can the players respect him as a decision maker after this mess. This week has shown who has control.

I think that Garrett and Jerry collectively picked Rob Ryan; however, I think that they probably discussed Ray Horton and decided that a 1st time Head Coach and a 1st time D-Coordinator might not be the best combination

I thinks this is probably about right. Add in that Horton probably had something to say about it, too, and he might have been an option they were strongly considering and that just didn't work out.

jnday;4956204 said:

I disagree with Garrett having control. I think this week showed how little control he actually has. Jerry is calling the shots and he doesn't care who likes it. If they bring in an OC, Garrett is done. He will be nothing more than a puppet. He has put in his place after saying that he would be calling plays and only a day afterward he backed off that statement and said he would do what's best for the Cowboys. Jerry clearly let him know who was in charge. How can the players respect him as a decision maker after this mess. This week has shown who has control.

Out of curiosity, why would you choose to believe this? There's not a shred of evidence to support--one way or another--at this point who was primarily responsible for the RR firing. It very easily could be that Rob was great in a lot of ways, but was disorganized, and that Jerry and JG *both* thought an upgrade was available. Or it could have been all Jerry and JG went along with it because he had little choice and because there are other good DCs available all the time. There's *no* reason to think this was the result of knee-jerk dysfunction. Why go there until and unless you hear something that makes it sound likely?